Using the power of data to enhance student safety in schools

Our client needed a clearer and more comprehensive overview of the content that secondary school pupils were viewing on school-owned digital devices. Children now have access to harmful material online in a way that is unprecedented in previous generations.

They required a solution that kept the children safe while still allowing them to thrive in their digital environment.

Further challenges came from the devices’ differing operating systems, such as the use of Safari on Apple devices as opposed to browsers such as Chrome and Microsoft Edge.

We applied a dynamic and agile approach and developed a clear strategy of data collection, clustering algorithms and grading vital intelligence by risk level.

We captured alerts made by students in the browser and detected vulnerabilities across the broadest categories, including mental health concerns, cyberbullying and grooming. We used data clustering and the sharing of data to create hotspots around certain words. This provides real-time updates to staff about student well-being across all school-owned devices.

• Optimised resource allocation

  School staff now have a storyboard of the threads that students were discussing. This has removed the burden and time constraints previously placed on them and created a seamless experience that has improved student safeguarding.

• Early warning system

  Staff can now quickly identify when a student is deemed ‘at risk’ and take the appropriate preventative measures. Before, staff were only aware after the fact.

• Enhanced student safety

  The key overall benefit of such a project is the undeniable enhancement of student safety, by quickly identifying students who may be engaging in risky online behaviour or accessing inappropriate content.